Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) maintain and (b) increase the proportion of land used for growing cucumbers.

    George Eustice

    Commercial cucumber growers in the UK require heated glasshouses.

    In 2010, we introduced the National Planning Policy Framework which encourages sustainable growth in rural areas and promotes the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based rural businesses. We aim to remove the barriers to building glasshouse nurseries.

    There are several examples where large industrial plants have constructed substantial heated glasshouse facilities adjacent to their factory to make use of surplus heat and carbon dioxide in horticultural production. The government supports innovative initiatives of this sort.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) men and (b) women took their own life in each London borough in each year since 2010.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Rebuck on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the requirement for all learners who did not achieve a Level 2 in English and maths by the age of 16 to continue to study those subjects post-16 since its introduction.

    Lord Nash

    We publish analysis on English and maths attainment by students aged 16 to 18 who did not achieve A* to C by the end of key stage 4 in an annual experimental Statistical First Release. The latest release (relating to 2013/14) is attached and also available online. [1]

    The next publication will provide data relating to 2014/15, the first year of the English and maths requirement.

    The English and maths requirement has had a positive effect on attainment. In 2015, for 17-year-olds and over, entries in maths were up 30% while English entries rose by 23%. Last year there were over 4,000 more passes in English by students aged 17 and over and over 7,500 more maths passes.

    We also monitor in-year management information returns from further education institutions. In 2014/15, 97% of 16 to 19-year-olds without GCSE A*-C English and/or maths attending an FE institution continued their study of these subjects.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/level-1-and-2-english-and-maths-16-to-18-students-2013-to-2014.

    “

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the use of child soldiers by the Afghan local police.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Afghanistan is one of seven countries included in the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Afghanistan’s campaign “Children, Not Soldiers” which aims to end the recruitment and use of children by Afghan Government security forces.

    We share the concerns of the UN Special Representative on the continued recruitment of children in the Afghan security forces, and the lack of oversight of recruitment for the local police forces. While Afghanistan has made some progress, including the adoption of a presidential decree criminalizing child recruitment by Government security forces in 2015, significant efforts are needed to fully implement the Action Plan.

    The UK welcomes the creation of six child protection units in recruitment centres and is encouraging Afghanistan to expand this to all provinces. We urge the Government of Afghanistan to hold to account the perpetrators of child recruitment.

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the International Tennis Federation about the issue of equal prize money for men and women in tennis tournaments.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    HMG has had no such discussions.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what formal public consultation will need to take place when Sustainability and Transformation Plans are given approval by NHS England.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Where Sustainability and Transformation plans envisage changes to the way that NHS services are commissioned or delivered, it will be the responsibility of the relevant clinical commissioning groups to involve patients and the public in considering and making decisions on those proposals, in line with their duties under the National Health Service Act 2006.

  • Karen Lumley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karen Lumley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that British manufacturers have fair access to the tendering process to promote the use of UK parts in foreign-made railway trains on the UK rail network.

    Claire Perry

    We are encouraging SMEs, new entrants and innovators to work with the industry to identify and take advantage of initiatives benefitting the supply chain and improving access to the market to ensure that the UK remains competitive and develops the capacity for orders at home and abroad. It should be noted that over 2,000 railway vehicles are currently on order (being manufactured or to be manufactured) in the UK.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the Basildon Clinical Commissioning Group spending less than the national average on mental health services, according to NHS Benchmarking figures.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No such assessment has been made by this Department. NHS England advises that the National Health Service benchmarking data for 2014/15 (the latest data available) shows that, compared to a demographically similar cluster of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), Basildon and Brentwood CCG spends slightly more than the cluster average on mental health services (£13,499,988 per 100,000 population against £13,080,187) and is therefore not considered an outlier. This analysis of the benchmarking data is used because within the CCG cluster the prevalence of mental health conditions, and therefore the appropriate spending, is likely to be comparable.

  • David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Warburton on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is giving to rural nurseries to ensure they are able to meet the Government’s commitment of providing 30 free hours of childcare.

    Caroline Dinenage

    We have recently consulted on a comprehensive set of reforms to the early years funding system, and one of our proposals is to allow local authorities to use a rurality/sparsity supplement in their local funding formulae, in recognition that there may be unavoidable higher costs to providers operating in sparsely populated, rural areas with limited demand. We are currently considering all responses to the consultation and are planning to publish the government’s response in the autumn.

    We are also keen to gather learning and test how the extended entitlement will operate in a range of area types, including rural areas. Through Early Implementation of the 30 Hours Free Childcare entitlement, Northumberland, one of our early implementer local authorities, is looking specifically at how the extended hours work for and impact on providers operating within the most rural postcodes in Northumberland. Since September, over 500 children in rural parts of Northumberland have been benefiting from a 30 hours free childcare place a year early.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 13387, what information her Department holds on the number of sites approved for fracking in England and Wales; what the location is of each such site; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    There are currently no sites approved for fracking in England and Wales. Any operator would need a Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) in place before commencing hydrocarbon operations. A PEDL does not, in and of itself, allow an operator to commence hydrocarbon operations. Rather, they grant exclusivity to licensees within a defined area. All operations would also require local planning permission,Environment Agency permits, Health and Safety Executive scrutiny, Oil and Gas Authority consent and access agreement(s) with relevant landowner(s).

    The Infrastructure Act 2015 introduced a range of further requirements that must be met before an operator can carry out hydraulic fracturing in a responsible, sustainable and safe manner. A hydraulic fracturing consent will not be issued unless my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is satisfied that the conditions are met. The Secretary of State must also be satisfied that it is appropriate to issue the consent.